Reports: Wriddhiman Saha in talks with Tripura team for player-cum-mentor role

Veteran India wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha is reportedly in talks with Tripura for serving them as player-cum-mentor. Earlier, Saha had made it clear that his key areas of focus will be domestic cricket and the IPL after being axed from the Indian Test squad as the management and selectors appointed KS Bharat as the back-up wicketkeeper for the home series against Sri Lanka earlier this year.

At the same time, the report further added that Saha is looking for better prospects in domestic cricket after a fallout with the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and that he must first get a NOC from the CAB  mandatorily, and only then will the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) be able to take the matter forward.

Wriddhiman Saha requires clearance from CAB

“He wants a role of being the player-cum-mentor for Tripura. He has been in talks with some Apex Council members in Tripura but nothing has been finalized yet,” said an official as quoted as saying by NDTV. “He has to first get a clearance (no-objection-certificate) from the CAB and then the BCCI and then it will be taken forward,” added their source .

Meanwhile, the 37-year-old was one of the Gujarat Titans’ impactful performers in their IPL 2022 title triumph last month. Opening the innings for the Titans, Saha amassed 317 runs from the 11 matches at an average of 31.70 and a strike rate of 122.39, including three half-centuries with his highest-score being 68.

Notably, the Bengal cricketer could only make an impact as India’s full-time Test stumper after the retirement of MS Dhon from Test cricket in December 2014. After that, he was India’s first-choice keeper before the emergence of Rishabh Pant. Saha was last seen in action for India during the home series against New Zealand last December where he scored a match-saving 61 in the Kanpur Test match. As far as the veteran gloveman’s First-Class career is concerned, he has featured in 122 matches for Bengal ever since his debut in 2007.